THE HOUSE

The Hen House

As previously noted, the HEN HOUSE was started in the Spring of 1999. We searched the web for housing types and researched on the small, egg-laying poultry breeds for something that would suit our backyard operation.

THE HOUSE
For housing information, we found the Virginia Cooperative Extension Small Scale Poultry Housing site to be very informative. The Designs for Small Poultry Structures on their page provide plans for several different size houses. You may want to check with your State Extension Office for information relevant to your area. We also looked at the opposite end of the poultry housing spectrum where we found Forsham Cottage Arks. After some deliberation, we decided to build our own house, combining elements from what we learned in our research. We wanted something small (12-24 hens), accessible for easy egg gathering and cleaning. We used wood perches for the interior of their house, which keep the hens from walking in their litter, exterior nest boxes making it easy to collect eggs, and a removable side to make it easier for us to clean.




The right side of the house has an interchangeable side (solid for winter and mesh for summer ventilation.	The nest boxes are easily accessible by lifting the side roof and closing the night shutter which keeps the hens from sleeping in the nest boxes at night.

We drew up the floor plan and had a local contractor build the house off site. Selected materials included salt-treated lumber, asphalt shingles with ridge vent, 1/2" treated wood siding. The house was also designed to be dismantled for thorough cleaning. We ran electricity to the house for heating and lighting.

We currently have 2 houses with covered runs, the second house is a prefab storage building we purchased from Miller's Storage Buildings http://rockbridgeweekly.com/businessguide/millers.html this arrangement works very well because we can rotate flocks easily and keep them separated for any type of extra care or treatment. We customized the interior by adding next boxes, and built an elevated floor of open slats to keep the hens from walking in soiled litter. We also insulated the house which helps keep the heating costs down in the winter. Having a larger door to service the hen house is a huge advantage.

Please feel free to Contact Us if you have any questions or would like more information.